Cynthia Shanahan
University of Illinois at Chicago
[email protected]
312-593-3698

We want students to read like the
experts,
BUT
 There
are many experts in social
studies
Who are the experts?











Economists
Political Scientists
Geographers
Psychologists
Sociologists
Historians
Linguists
Anthropologists
Archaeologists
Philosophers
Etc.
Social Studies….
Is a fairly recent development (about
1930) that is based upon what is taught
in school rather than what a particular
field might study.
 It is a combination of a number of
different fields.

So, what’s the problem?
The experts in each of these fields have
somewhat different epistemological
understandings, purposes, methods,
knowledge bases, and, hence,
communication practices.
 In order to read like experts, students
taking social studies need to be able to
change the way they read depending
upon type of information they are
studying at the moment.

Ten Themes of social studies










Culture
Time, Continuity, and Change
People, places, and environments
Individual development and identity
Individuals, groups, and institutions
Power, authority, and governance
Production, distribution, and consumption
Science, technology, and society
Global connections
Civic ideas and practices
In today’s secondary schools

Social Science takes into account mainly
these fields:





Economics/Finance
Geography (e.g. World Geography)
Civics (Government)
History (World History; US History)
Other areas are considered within the
lenses of these fields, such as




Art/culture
Religion
Technology
Anthropology
Can you tell which field this text is from?
What characteristics do you notice?
Rapid land use change has taken place in many coastal
regions of China such as the Zhujiang Delta over the past
two decades due to accelerated industrialization and
urbanization. In this paper, land use change dynamics were
investigated by the combined use of satellite remote sensing,
geographic information systems (GIS), and stochastic
modelling technologies. The results indicated that there has
been a notable and uneven urban growth and a tremendous
loss in cropland between 1989 and 1997. The land use
change process has shown no sign of becoming stable. The
study demonstrates that the integration of satellite remote
sensing and GIS was an effective approach for analyzing the
direction, rate, and spatial pattern of land use change. The
further integration of these two technologies with Markov
modelling was found to be beneficial in describing and
analyzing land use change process. full text G
Geographers





Describe the physical features of the earth and
atmosphere and how they affect and are
affected by humans (e.g. distribution of
populations, resources, land use, and
industries.
Information is multimodal, as in science.
Information is tightly packed, as in science.
There is lots of specialized vocabulary, as in
science
Like in economics and science, information
can be studied statistically. But interpretation
of data requires judgment.
Geography text
Information is multimodal, as in science.
 Information is tightly packed, as in
science.
 There is lots of specialized vocabulary,
as in science
 Like in economics and science,
information can be studied statistically.
But interpretation of data requires
judgment.

What about this text?

In the last two decades, Brazil’s health care system has
undergone major transformations: universalization and
municipalization. Prior to 1988, the administration of the
health care system was centralized in the management and
delivery of health care. National funding was channeled, via
contracts, to the private sector, and inequalities in the
provision of services were pervasive. A large portion of the
population did not have access to health care, either
because they were uninsured or because there were no
health facilities in the areas where they lived.

full text PS
Political science
Presents the systematic study of
government and politics.
 Makes generalizations and analyses
about political systems and behavior
and uses these to predict future
behavior.
 In school, texts usually teach Civics,
which includes the study of government
and political systems.

Political science text
Highlights the interpretation of quantitative
information (such as the results of opinion
polls, statistical information), like science
text
 Analyzes abstract logical relationships and
to present reasoned and persuasive
arguments, like history text.
 Students studying civics need to use this
information in order to be more informed
citizens.

And this?

The Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770, has different
meanings to different persons, varying as seen from
individual standpoints. To some minds the resistance then
made to British authority was the outcropping of a thoroughly
lawless and riotous spirit of a mob, utterly beyond all excuse;
while to others it was the last expression of a deep hostility
to the mother country, which was not only justifiable but
praiseworthy. For some years before the massacre a feeling
of strong animosity against England was growing rapidly
among the colonists, though there was no one then so wild
as to expect or even to favor independence. During this
period the gulf between the two parties was gradually
widening, and the general trend of public affairs was against
reconciliation. full text H
Historians
Interpret the past, using available
resources from the historical record and
the work of other historians.
 They create interpretations of
cause/effect, significance, the
motivations and actions of historical
actors, etc.

History text
Often narrative, with implicit or
embedded arguments about
cause/effect, significance, change over
time, etc.
 Sources of data often absent from text
and/or subordinate to the coherent story.
 Graphic elements often illustrative (e.g.
a photograph or painting.
 Text is about characters, goals, actions,
tactics, results of actions.

And this?

We present evidence consistent with Schumpeter’s view that
the financial system can promote economic growth, using
data on 80 countries over the 1960-1989 period. Various
measures of the level of financial development are strongly
associated with real per capita GDP growth, the rate of
physical capital accumulation, and improvements in the
efficiency with which economics employ physical capital.
Further the predetermined component of financial
development is robustly correlated with future rates of
economic growth, physical capital accumulation, and
economic efficiency improvements. full text E
Economists
Study how societies use scarce resources
for production and distribution.
 Are concerned with relationships between
humans and the resources they access.
 Economists collect and analyze data, study
economic trends, develop forecasts
(energy costs, inflation, interest rates,
business cycles, employment levels, etc.)

Economists
extrapolate trends and create actions
from data.
 Use philosophical or theoretical lenses
to make sense of data (e.g. Keynesian
or supply-side economics).
 Use data that are represented in charts,
graphs, formulae, and prose

Economics texts
Multimodal
 Requires reciprocally moving among
different sources of information, like
reading science or mathematics
 Accuracy is important—need to pay
attention to more than just general
information

Characteristics of economics text.
BUT…
 Information is also speculative

 What will happen if interest rates are raised?
 How fast will the job market decline/recover?
 When will the stock market see a correction?

Different interpretations are common
 Necessary to read like a historian (source,
contextualize, corroborate, pay attention to
tone, etc.)
All of these fields have some
commonalities
 All of these fields have subfields


Important to teach students the reasons
why historians, political scientists,
economists, and geographers read the
way they do
 They create different kinds of knowledge,
drawing from different sources
 They have differing criteria for quality
 They have differing conventions of
communication.
How do we teach students to read social
studies consistent with a disciplinary
approach?





Teach students to read reciprocally graphic,
numeric, and prose texts.
Teach students to pay attention to source and
context.
Teach students to look for overarching
principles or lenses that an author uses to
make sense of data.
Teach students to recognize and question an
author’s argument, even an implicit one (as in
history).
Teach students to study vocabulary differently
for different purposes
Read Reciprocally
Use Source and Context

Did the U.S. agree to take down US
missiles pointing at USSR in order to get
USSR to dismantle Cuban missiles?
Two sources:
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy;
Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Dobrynin

Dobrynin report to Russian Foreign minister:

If that (the missiles in Turkey) is the only
obstacle to achieving the regulation I
mentioned earlier, then the president doesn’t
see any insurmountable difficulties in
resolving this issue,” replied R. Kennedy. ...
However, the president can’t say anything
public in this regard about Turkey,” R.
Kennedy said again.

R. Kennedy report to Dean Rusk,
Secretary of State
He then asked me about Khrushchev’s other proposal
dealing with the removal of missiles from Turkey. I replied
that there could be no quid pro quo—no deal of this kind
could be made. This was a matter that had to be
considered by NATO and that it was up to NATO to make
the decision. I said it was completely impossible for
NATO to take such a step under the present threatening
position of the Soviet Union....
 I repeated that there could be no deal of any kind and that
any steps toward easing tensions in other parts of the
world largely depended on the Soviet Union and Mr.
Khrushchev taking action in Cuba and taking it
immediately.

Sources of information
What is different about the two
statements?
What explains the differences?
Who is believable?
Overarching interpretive lenses

What should we to stave off a recession?
 Increase the supply of goods by keeping corporate
taxes low so businesses will have more money to
spend on the production of products (and will hire
more people to produce them.
 Increase consumer demand for products by
increasing the wealth of people who want to make
purchases. This increase in wealth requires taxing
the rich and distributing the money to the poor,
creating jobs, increasing wages.
Which viewpoint?

With my five-year budget, millions of
jobs would be created by cutting the
corporate income tax in half, by creating
a flat personal income tax of 17%, and
by cutting the regulations that are
strangling American businesses. The
only stimulus ever proven to work is
leaving more money in the hands of
those who earned it. (Rand Paul, 2013 response to
State of the Union Address)
Which viewpoint?

Currently the super-rich and the largest
corporations in America don’t pay their
fair share of taxes, which means there’s
not enough funding for programs that
will alleviate systemic inequalities….If
you have seen a massive transfer of
wealth from the middle class to the top
1/10 of 1%, you know what, we’ve got to
transfer that back if we’re going to have
a vibrant middle class. (Bernie Sanders)
Interpretive lenses in history

The Civil Rights Movement was:
 Social (e.g. due to issues of race, class, gender,





etc.)
Religious (e.g. due to the the rise of African
American church leadership)
Economic (e.g. due to the inequitable economic
opportunities for African Americans)
Political (e.g. due to the political actions of
Eisenhower/Kennedy)
Because of great men
Because of grass roots action

The public accommodations section of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was in fact a
constitutional revolution, reversing a
Supreme Court decision of 1883 which
held a similar measure unconstitutional.
It was also true social change, because
activities such as eating and sleeping
had long been the most sensitive
components of the color line in American
culture. Was this “merely” social
change, or was it an economic issue as
well. It certainly had economic
consequences. (Gavin Wright, 1999)
Recognition and questioning of
an argument

As we have said, the island of
Hispaniola was the first to witness the
arrival of the Europeans and to suffer
the wholesale slaughter of its people
and the devastation and depopulation of
the land. It all began with the
Europeans taking native women and
children both as servants and to satisfy
their own base appetites (De las Casas,
1542)

Thanks to his (Columbus’s) epochal
voyage, an interdependent global
economic system emerged on a scale
undreamed-of before he set sail. Its
workings touched every shore washed
by the Atlantic Ocean. Europe provided
the markets, the capital, and the
technology; Africa furnished the labor;
and the New World offered its raw
materials, especially its precious metals
and its soil for the cultivation of sugar
cane. (The American Pageant).
Differing approaches to Vocabulary

General Academic Vocabulary
 Teach only if necessary for understanding a
concept.
 Several ways to teach
○ Tell students word meaning before reading
○ Teach students to determine meaning while
reading
 Through context
 From dictionaries or a Thesaurus
 From discussion with peers

Example: sector
Vocabulary, cont.

Technical Terms:
 Definitions are usually presented in the text,
so these do not have to be pre-taught (but
need to be discussed after reading).
 Students need a system for remembering
this vocabulary
○ A vocabulary notebook
○ Vocabulary card
 This kind of vocabulary needs to be
assessed.
General and Technical
Vocabulary.
Macroeconomic factors in the U.S. are
currently favorable for economic growth. In
the words of Fed Chairperson Janet
Yellen, the central bank has “confidence in
the robustness of the economy and its
resilience to shocks.” So investing in a
non-cyclical sector, like defense,
particularly its attractive stocks, looks to be
a good idea now.
Acronyms and Abbreviations

Students should learn the more common
ones
 Economics: FHA, APR, IRA, CPI, etc.
 History/ Civics: NAACP, GOP, ACLU
 Geography: PDT, MDC
Vocabulary that signals a position

Students need to pay attention to words
that help them determine the position of
the author.
 Before long he was generating extra
monthly income like $1,200, $1,800, and
$2,100... and all in a matter of weeks! His
nest egg began to grow exponentially, and
before long he had turned a mere $50,000
into a massive $5.3 million.
In summary…
Students need opportunities to read a
variety of texts from various
perspectives in “social studies” that so
they can practice the flexible use of
disciplinary strategies appropriate to the
information they are studying.
 Students need guidance in reading
these texts, including guidance in
graphic elements.

In summary
Some important areas of instruction:
 Integration of graphic, numerical and
prose information
 Source and Context
 Overarching principles or lenses
 Identifying and questioning an authors’
argument
 Flexible vocabulary study

Thanks!
PowerPoint will be available at:
Shanahanonliteracy.com
Cynthia Shanahan
[email protected]
312-593-3698